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Rodney Bay shopping is terrible, the restaurants... - Review of The Landings St. Lucia

The property was built in 2007 and some of the buildings are still under construction. That being said, it really didn't affect our stay there, we never heard the usual sounds of a construction project. Our room was private and right on the beach. We stayed in a three bedroom condo on the first floor beach front. We went with another couple and it was very roomy. It was a split follr plan- they stayed on one side and we stayed on the other. We both had access through the bedrooms to the large patio outside. We were glad we opted for the private jacuzzi. The kitchen was a good size and modern- we did meet the maintenance man though- some minor issues with appliances and the internet. All was resolved without a hassle. We did have to call and request coffee everyday for the room even though it was listed as one of the complementary items included in the $30 per day Resort Fee. The property is large, but they have golf carts to bring you around if needed. The downsides: Far from the sites- most of the sites are toward the south end of the island and cabs are VERY expensive. We were quoted $150 to get to the airport- we ended up at $120. Rodney Bay shopping is terrible, the restaurants we tried were lacking- service wasn't what we are accustomed to and the food was just OK. The boat transportation from the hotel is a $20 charge. The bars in Rodney Bay were empty on Saturday afternoon- in Ft Lauderdale they would be hopping. All in all it was a good trip. I would stay at The Landings if I planned on staying at or around the resort, be prepared to pay if you plan on leaving the property. The cab to Marigot Bay to go to dinner ran us $100 round trip. We paid $300 to climb Gros Piton when it was all said and done-2 people- $200 for the cab round trip, $60 for the entrance to the park, $40 tip. Rodney Bay is about $50 round trip. Positives: Beautiful facility, relaxing beach.

Stayed February 2009, traveled as a couple

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My wife and I stayed at The Landings for a week in early June 2008 for our honeymoon. We had read some honest reports on this site before going, so we were not too surprised by the state of the building works once we arrived and we had found an excellent deal through Travelzoo.com. The resort complex itself is about an hour’s drive north of the international airport (it costs about $80US by taxi). If you are travelling from another Caribbean island (e.g. Puerto Rico) then you may land in Castries, which is significantly closer. The complex is more timeshare than hotel, and many, perhaps even most, of the units are owned by investors who share rental income with the resort when they are not using their units themselves.

We had a one-bedroom, groundfloor apartment facing the harbour, and across from us we could see the containers holding the building materials for the ongoing construction, but these had been hidden somewhat by a wood fence. The sight of construction materials may be disconcerting to some people paying ‘premium’ rates, and if you’re dropping loads of money to stay here before it’s completed then I would suggest renting a beachfront apartment which only has unobstructed views of the ocean. Thanks to this site and some member photographs we knew what to expect and so weren’t bothered. The apartment itself was top notch, with high quality furnishings and appointments, toiletries, fully-stocked kitchen (they’’ll stock the fridge before you arrive as well, if you are willing to pay for it), bath robes and slippers, flat screen TV and DVD player. In short, all the conveniences you could wish for.

June is the start of the rainy season (hence the deals) but we were very lucky with the weather. Some reviewers have complained about the mosquitoes. Yes, there were mosquitoes, but not so many that they would ruin your day. In fact, every evening an employee would fumigate the shrubs around the whole complex. The beach was superb and was rarely used. All beaches in St Lucia are public (as they should be), so the hotel has employees at the end of the beach towards the town of Gros Islet to dissuade locals from hanging around and to look after the equipment, and we were never harassed by anyone. Residents used to be able to walk along the beach all the way from Gros Islet to the nature reserve on Pigeon Point, but constructing The Landings’ artificial harbour put an end to that (in fact, there were some major negative environmental repercussions resulting from the construction which we only read about in the local media once we were down there) as its mouth bisects the beach.

One of the best aspects of The Landings is its location close to Pigeon Point, a nature reserve that used to be an island (Pigeon Island) but which was connected to the mainland by a causeway in the 70s. We walked there most days (it takes about 15 minutes) along the road that runs past the back of the Sandals resort that is next door. It’s awkward to walk along the beach (because of the building works and the harbour entrance) but it can be done if you skirt around the building site. No one but us seemed to do this, but you’ll be rewarded with a great look at a lagoon with hundreds of nesting birds (mainly egrets and herons). As I’ve mentioned birds, I might add the St. Lucia is a super spot for watching them, and The Landings is perfectly located in that respect with Pigeon Point being a prime spot. And each day we’d see many hummingbirds feeding from the hibiscus bushes around the hotel and next to our plungepool.

If you don’t hire a car then you’ll need to take a taxi or tour to see the rest of the island. The Landings has contracted with a local service that uses only Mercedes and BMWs – expect to be charged accordingly. They don’t seem too keen on your trying to find a cheaper tour yourself.

There was only one restaurant open while we were there, and it was too expensive for us to eat there every night, but they do a great breakfast. Groceries can be bought in a supermarket on the road to Rodney Bay, where you’ll also find banks and lots of restaurants (you must buy some excellent Bounty Rum and try the superb pineapples). A man (the ‘fruit man’) in a flag-bedecked boat putters through the coastal waters between Rodney Bay and Pigeon Point selling fresh fruit – just wave him in if you’re feeling hungry. The hotel apparently has a water taxi service to Rodney Bay, but it never seemed to be there when we needed it. Perhaps it now runs on a schedule.

The hotel staff were excellent and friendly, and they are clearly proud to be working at such a hotel. The spa is good, though unfinished and not always open. The beach is superb with excellent views.

Do go to Gros Islet and the Friday night Jump-up and eat some freshly-grilled conch with lime juice. This gets rowdier at the hours progress. It seems quite safe, but I’d recommend that families go earlier in the evening.

To sum up, I’d highly recommend The Landings, keeping in mind the provisos about the ongoing building work. If you’re paying top dollar, then you might like to pay exorbitant prices at a place that’s already finished. If you get a deal here, then go for it.

Liked — Privacy

Disliked — building activity

Stayed June 2008, traveled as a couple

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LandingsDirector, Director of Sales and Marketing at The Landings St. Lucia, responded to this review,
June 29, 2009

I would like to thank you for your positive review of The Landings. It looks like you were able to get out and experience the island with your walks to Pigeon Point and your trip to Anse La Raye. The views from Pigeon Point are stunning and Anse La Raye always provides a fun and exciting cultural experience. As you mentioned The Landings is continuing their development through 2010. Although you noted that it effected your stay minimally, I am excited to inform you that since you stayed with us we have completed phase two of our development and we are well on our way towards completion of phase three. Thank you again for your positive remarks and I invite you to visit The Landings again soon to experience some of the new and exciting amenities that we now offer.

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I visited the Landings on january 25th and was just spending one night there, and this was the most beautiful experience that I have had in my life so far. Everything was just so out of this world.

For the life of me, I thought that the photos displayed in the various travel magazines were fake; I never dreamed that the hotel could be so beautiful. What a reality check I received when I stepped into the lobby and saw that the place was more spectular than what I initially thought. I wondered if the hotel and it's staff were for real! From the moment that we checked in, to the moment that we regretably left, was fantastic.

The staff are extremely pleasant and very knowledgable in their area of work. Their effeciency and effectiveness in addressing various questions was remarkable.

Our room was just gorgeous!!!! We had a plunge pool right outside our room and I made full use of it. The front dest staff checked to make sure that we liked the room, if there were any complaints etc., and honestly, I am still trying to find a fault with my visit. I just can't believe that everything was so perfect.

Now I know the reason why the Hotel has been classed as a five star, five diamond resort. You have got to experience this place for yourself.

We were treated with the highest standards and I definately know that I will be re-visiting The Landings St. Lucia in the future. For my Honeymoon,(and I don't know when that will be yet) I have already told the staff to expect my return!!!

Liked — The quality of service I received

Disliked — Nothing so far....................I still can't come up with a fault.

Stayed January 2009, traveled with friends

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LandingsDirector, Director of Sales & Marketing at The Landings St. Lucia, responded to this review,
April 29, 2009

I am excited to hear that you had such an amazing experience at The Landings. Your remarks are incredibly flattering and they reflect the type of stay that we hope to provide for all of our guests. I look forward to your next stay and we will work hard to ensure that your next visit is as positive as your first. Thank you again for your feedback and we look forward to hosting you at The Landings again soon.

Cheers,

John MacMullenThe Landings St. LuciaDirector of Sales and Marketing

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I'm a bit delinquent in posting a review (stayed in April of 08) but our experience was so wonderful, despite the hotel being only partially complete, that I'm going with better late than never!

Our group consisted of two parents and two kids ages 7 and 10 and I couldn't have asked for a better suite. I booked it directly through the hotel and the reservationist was incredibly patient. They walked me through the layout and assigned us a fabulous suite right on the beach with a hot tub off the deck. I could actually stand in the kitchen and watch my kids play on the beach! There were plenty of beach chairs (no getting up early to save seats!) and lovely floats to play in the ocean with. The rooms were spacious, clean and very comfy. My family loved the tvs in every room too. We did have a couple of maintenance glitches , but our calls were answered promptly and usually someone showed up within minutes.

Althought the hotel was still under construction, I must say we hardly noticed it at all. There was only one pool, but it served us well and the kids had lots of fun in the fountains and hot tubs. You could see the construction across the waterway but it didn't detract from the beauty of the completed areas of the resort. We've stayed at many luxury resorts throughout the Carribean and often times you're confronted with local shacks or goats right past the perimeter of your resort. What is lovely is that the lounge chairs are of good quality with comfy cushions and lots of umbrellas. No plastic here.

The restaurant was a bit pricey and a bit too funky for the kids so we rented a car (very easy through the hotel) and drove to Rodney Bay for dinner (lots of good restaurants and the kids loved Memories of Hong Kong) each night and made a few trips to the supermarket (the Rodney Bay Heights much better and closer than Rodney Bay.) Driving the interior of the island is a bit perilous so we relied on drivers for that but the road from the hotel to Rodney Bay or Castries is perfectly flat and easy to navigate. And since there wasn't any type of shop in the hotel, we could easily take the five minute drive to the shops for supplies.

Also chartered a boat for a half-day trip to the sights and it was fabulous. Great crew (recommended by the hotel when we showed up with a brochure and they told us they could find us a better charter for half the price!) The concierge at the hotel had tons of options for activities and made this a very easy process.

Overall, one of the best travel experiences so far and we really didn't miss any of the amenities that have yet to be built. And, as a bonus, the resort is very kid-friendly which is not always the case with top-notch resorts.

Liked — spacious, great decor, top of the line finishes

Disliked — loved everything about it - even had umbrellas in the closet!

Stayed April 2008, traveled with family

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LandingsDirector, Director of Sales & Marketing at The Landings St. Lucia, responded to this review,
April 29, 2009

I thank you for all of the positive feedback about your stay at The Landings St. Lucia. As you mentioned our property is very kid-friendly and I am excited to inform you that we have now established The Landings Kids Club as a complimentary amenity to provide children with opportunity to participate in some fun activities during their stay. I'm very happy to hear that you were so pleased with your accomodations and I am equally thrilled that you were able to navigate the island with such ease. We work tirelessly to ensure that our guests are provided with the necessary resources to take advantage of all that St. Lucia has to offer. Thank you again for your positive remarks and I hope you come back to stay with us again soon.

Cheers,

John MacMullenThe Landings St. Lucia, A RockResortDirector of Sales and Marketing

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Can a hotel be so well designed that everything you dreamed has been taken care of ? well my prayers were answered when I stayed at the Landings in St Lucia.

Living in Barbados I know the hotel product in the Caribbean well and this certainly tops my list and I would highly recommend it to everyone.

The rooms are spacious and elegant yet still give you that homely feeling. The service is professional but friendly and the location is spectacular and is on the best beach in St Lucia,

It's perfect for that young family who usually have to pray they get their interconnecting rooms or for parents who don't want their teenagers to far way. It's also great value for two/three couples which might normally think a hotel of this standard was out of their price range.

Hallelujah ... finally a resort built and operated with ME 'the customer' in mind !!

Liked — The Room Sizes (& the linen) & the location

Stayed December 2008, traveled with family

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LandingsDirector, Director of Sales & Marketing at The Landings St. Lucia, responded to this review,
January 19, 2009

I am thrilled to hear that you enjoyed your stay at The Landings. I'm excited that The Landings' staff and facilities made you feel right at home while you were with us. As you know, The Landings is evolving through its completion in 2010, as we continue our development, I genuinely appreciate your positive feedback and I am so glad to hear that you had a great time at our resort. I wish you all of the best in the New Year and I hope you will visit us again soon.

Cheers,

John MacMullen

Director of Sales & MarketingThe Landings St. Luca, a RockResort

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We stayed at the Landings for our honeymoon a few weeks ago, and had an absolutely great time!

The pictures do not lie, the rooms at The Landings are fabulous. We stayed in a 2 bedroom 2 1/2 bath suite w/ hot tub on the balcony. This has got to be one of the nicest rooms I've ever stayed in.

As some of the other reviews have referred to, the property is still undergoing construction. There was one building going up across from us and a couple others a bit further away. This did not bother us during our stay at all though. The noise was never bothersome, and didn't interfere with our use of any of the facilities. It is true that guests need to ride in a golf cart on a bit of dirt road to get their bags from the lobby to the rooms, but we didn't sweat it. At the rate they were working on the buildings, this may not even be the case in a month's time!

The resort was not very crowded when we were there and so we had total use of the restaurant, towels, non-motorized water sports, beach chairs, etc. The spa was open and I had one of the best facials I've ever gotten, but they were limited in the treatments they had available at the time (no couple's massage unfortunately). The desk staff was friendly and helpful, and one other cool perk was that the 'taxi' we rode in to and from town was a 7 series Beamer. Not bad!

Overall, we had a great stay. Yes, there is still some construction going on but it didn't bother us. We actually feel sure that it helped us secure the great rate that we did (on travelocity). Try to get in here before the rates jump when construction is done, because they surely will!

Liked — Great, fabulous rooms

Disliked — Getting around was not the easiest on the property or the island

Stayed December 2008, traveled as a couple

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LandingsDirector, Director of Sales & Marketing at The Landings St. Lucia, responded to this review,
January 19, 2009

First, allow me to congratulate you on your recent marriage, I'm sure this is a very exciting time in your life, and we are honored that you chose The Landings as your honeymoon destination. It is great to hear that you enjoyed your accomodations, I hope you felt at home while you were with us. As you mentioned, there is some current development as we are continuing our evolution through completion in 2010. I'm thrilled to hear that this did not effect on your stay, as our staff strives to ensure that it does not. I thank you for your positive feedback, it is greatly appreciated. Once again, congratulations, and we hope to see you again soon, maybe for an anniversary.

Cheers,

John MacMullen,

Director of Sales & Marketing The Landings St. Lucia, a RockResort

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Well, where to start! First, as mentioned in my other reviews, I have high expectations when spending large amounts of money on a vacation (I consider $1800 per night a significant charge). The Landings fell short in nearly every category.

We booked this hotel due to our previous positive experience at a RockResort (The Lodge at Vail), and this couldn't be farther from a 5-star resort.

First the positive (there is always good and bad at any hotel. The rooms are beautiful. Large, well equipped with a full kitchen and a washer/dryer. Definitely small issues (i.e. the in-room safe is on the top shelf of the closet so you can't see inside unless you're at least 6'4" (which I'm not). In order to open the safe, you must step inside a small closet and close the door behind you. The staff is wonderfully nice (even if uninformed) and the chef is one of the nicest guys we have ever met (he is leaving in February to return to Colorado).

The bad. This hotel is not ready to host so many guests. There is one restaurant with approximately 10 tables for a hotel with a capacity of nearly 200 people. The kitchen (which we saw) is the size of the kitchen in one of the units (only one stove). There are not enough beach chairs (they had to start taking them from the pool to the beach) and the resort ran out of towels for the beach/pool twice during our stay. Apparently they didn't even think to have commercial washers/dryers for their towels and have to wait for delivery from an outside company whenever they run out - poor planning. The beach was entirely full and the hotel is only half built. I have no idea where people will sit on the beach when the hotel is complete.

The beach is quite rocky and is uncomfortable to walk on at shorebreak. We found a piece of concrete in the roped off swimming area as well as a man-made piece of rock (from the jetty) that was as sharp as a butter knife. When I brought this to the attention of the general manager, he said "there is plenty of sharp coral in the ocean so what's the difference if you cut your foot on a piece of coral or a manmade object?" I'm sure you get the picture!

When I suggested that perhaps they could make the NY Times digest available to the guests at breakfast, he told me that it wasn't available on the island. When I told him that it was, he said that I didn't know that and mumbled "whatever" as he turned his back on me and walked away. Another guest at the hotel was standing there with her mouth open, incredulous. The reason I had asked for the times digest is because this 5-star resort does not have a sundries store. No place to purchase a candy bar, sunscreen, book or magazine. They offer a shuttle to the local shopping area at 9am (which they didn't even tell us about until after we had paid for a taxi) which doesn't return for 3 hours (it is a 10 minute ride).

There was one operational pool (unless you count the small dipping pool), and the hot tubs next to it were not working during our entire stay. We discovered, after talking with another guest, that they hadn't worked in 2 weeks! Don't let the photo of the pool fool you. It is not a large pool but actually not much larger than a 20x40 backyard, inground pool. Turn down service is available (although you have to know about it since it is never offered). When I mentioned to the gym attendant that the televisions on the bicycles were broken, he told me that he already knew and that they had been needing attention "for a while."

This was a vacation of unkept promises. They should never have accepted bookings for so many rooms as they were simply unprepared to handle this many guests. The hotel general manager should find a career in an area that does not involve customer service or dealing with the general public. Several other guests that we spoke with agreed that he was arrogant and at least seemed over his head.

I could actually go on about various problems that we encountered but I'm sure you have read enough. There is simply no attention to detail at this resort, which you expect at a resort that bills itself so highly.

Do yourself a favor and stay away! I will post several photos upon my return to the States.

Liked — Room size

Disliked — Everything else

Stayed December 2008, traveled with family

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The Landings is St. Lucia's premiere beach resort featuring one, two and three-bedroom all suite villas. Accomodations include full kitches, state-of-the-art amenities, private terraces and personal plunge pools. The resort offers, beachfront dining, a full array of water activities, 80-slip yacht harbor and Soleil Spa.
Free Internet
Beach
Largest Suites north of St. Lucia...more less

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Also Known As:

The Landings St. Lucia, a Rock Hotel Castries

The Landings St. Lucia Gros Islet

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